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With a consistency reminiscent of their once fabled West Coast offense, the 49ers announced the signing of their final four rookies: first-round tackle Anthony Davis (five-year deal), first-round guard Mike Iupati (five years), second-round safety Taylor Mays (four years) and third-round linebacker Navorro Bowman (four years). The deals were announced on the very day rookies […]
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Sorry for the grammatical mistakes yesterday, but that wasn’t the most egregious miscue in my estimation. The other was lazy opining concerning Terrell Owens and Chad Ocho Cinco. Owens’s history of bucking authority by criticizing coaches and quarterbacks is all too well-known. Yesterday I wrote Owens might have difficulty dealing with the inevitable erosion of […]
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Even though he was part of the evil empire across the Bay, the entire Bay Area sports community had to be saddened by the passing of former Raider Jack “The Assassin” Tatum. Unfortunately, Tatum will be known most for the lick that paralyzed Patriots receiver Darryl Stingley in a preseason game than anything else in […]
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A quick post — not by Kevin Lynch — from the Chronicle sports desk: Enough about football, let’s talk politics. They say that politics makes for strange bedfellows, and maybe that’s how a USC guy ended up endorsing a Stanford guy. Ronnie Lott is getting behind Damon Dunn’s run for California secretary of state. Check […]
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The offensive line is up for evaluation. I did an analysis of the line last month based on statistics from footballoutsiders (who else?). The numbers revealed the 49ers were better at pass protection last year, but not very good at run blocking, particularly with runs in the 5- to 11-yard range as a percentage of […]
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Mike Nolan called them “mudders” and “grunts.” They are the three down linemen who made up the basis of the 3-4 defense. Basically in such system they are the unseen and unacknowledged, unless one happens to be named Justin Smith. The 49ers right defensive end not only finished tied on the team in sacks, he […]
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The strength of this team and their hope for repeated playoff appearances resides in their linebacking corps, or should it be core. This defense highlights it’s linebackers, particularly the one in the middle – Patrick Willis. He might be the best tackler in the game today, and the 49ers take advantage by funneling all the […]
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The five-year contract extension Shawntae Spencer signed in 2007 has taken an undulating route through the hills and valleys of perception. At first, with Spencer struggling through injuries including the 2008 knee surgery that cost him 14 games, the deal looked like a bad one for the 49ers. Then he bounced back, stealing last year’s […]
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Now for a preview of the safety position, one of the most enigmatic and underrated positions on the team. The tandem of Michael Lewis and Dashon Goldson compose one the better pairs in the conference. Goldson broke out last year, leading the team in interceptions with four and ranking second on the team in tackles […]
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In the supplemental draft, the 49ers sat on the sidelines while Chicago surrendered a seventh-round choice for BYU fullback Harvey Unga, and the Cowboys used a seventh-rounder on former Illinois nose tackle Joshua Price-Bent. Many have speculated on Aubrayo Franklin’s fate. The talented nose tackle could sign his one-year franchise offer of $7 million or […]
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Jason La Canfora of NFL Network believes the 49ers and nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin will be unable to work out a long-term deal by Thursday, the deadline for such a deal. It means Franklin’s only options are to sign his one-year franchise contract tender for $7 million and play, or hold out. Franklin has missed […]
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According to statistics compiled by our friends at footballoutsiders.com, the 49ers should seriously consider whether to once again forge their offense on a dominating run game. Based on the outsiders unique analysis of last year’s statistics, the 49ers don’t possess, a drive-sustaining, first-down- making-type of attack. What they have instead is a home-run hitting, high-risk, […]
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The 49ers officially welcomed Pitt tight end Nate Byham into the fold with the announcement that the rookie signed a four-year deal. The sixth-round pick is vying to become the blocking tight end, a job once held by now-Ram Billy Bajema. The team drafted Fresno State tight end Bear Pascoe in the late rounds last […]
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How good was the 49ers’ defense last year and what does that protend for 2010? This team put up some top ten stats such as ranking fourth in fewest points allowed and sixth in fewest rushing yards allowed. The team also made some remarkable strides last year. They went from 30 quarterback sacks in 2008 […]
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Joe Montana topped the Chronicle’s front page this morning for no other reason than he’s Joe Freaking Montana. Actually, the kids have fled, leaving Joe and wife Jennifer’s nest vacant. With that in mind the glamour couple is selling the big ranch in wine country and moving to a high-rise in San Francisco. The article […]
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An interesting article emerged in the SF Chronicle on Tuesday, revealing more information about the cumulative impact of concussions on football players. West Virginia doctors Julian Bailes and Bennet Omalu examined tissue from the brain of Bengals receiver Chris Henry; they discovered extensive brain damage. Henry played in only 55 NFL games and never missed […]
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NFL network is evaluating 32 teams in 32 days based on fans’ perception of where teams rank. Yesterday was the 17th day and as you might guess that’s where NFL network viewers ranked the San Francisco 49ers -17th overall, just barely in the bottom half of the league. Analyst Brian Baldinger did most of the […]
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On Friday, I posted that this team will careen into training camp with plenty of competitive battles at several spots, mostly at backup positions. Some of you disagreed (what’s a blog for?) and feel the roster is fairly settled. After giving the matter more thought, I believe this team is far more unsettled than I […]
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Is it a good or a bad sign that when the 49ers open training camp on Aug. 2, they’ll have competition at nearly every position? In the glory years, the roster was basically set, back-ups and all. While you ponder this question, let’s go over the contested positions. QUARTERBACK: Yes, it’s Alex Smith’s job. But […]
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Excuse me while I prune and weed a little. The blog went fallow for 11 days while I vacated for vacation and colleague David White was preoccupied at Pebble. I’ve returned just in time for the opening of the true offseason – no more OTA’s or minicamps, drafts or big signings. Instead, we have a […]
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The 49ers will resume voluntary practices at the beginning of next week, and then the biggie, the mandatory minicamp next weekend for this golf-insensitive football team (don’t they know they’re playing the U.S. Open at Pebble that weekend?) So far, these OTA’s have been uneventful, which is good. The career of cornerback Walt Harris ended […]
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Tackle Alex Boone wins the prize for the greatest body makeover this past off-season. Boone is now a svelte 320 instead of a sloppy 320. But a guy just across the room for him has also transformed his body. Running back Glen Coffee gained about 15 pounds of muscle since January. I asked him why. […]
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